


And they were roommates

by INeed_sMorez



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Bonding over music, Douxie is too selfless for his own good, Gen, Krel needs more friends, Light Angst, Mentioned Characters, Missing home, My First Fanfic, Slightly Out Of Character, Wizards Spoilers (Tales of Arcadia), platonic friendship, takes place after Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:33:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26800711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INeed_sMorez/pseuds/INeed_sMorez
Summary: Taking place right after Wizards, Douxie sets off with Nari and Archie to escape from the Arcane Order when they get attacked by a group of Stalklings, causing them to crash land in New York. Meanwhile, Krel is working on a new invention when it malfunctions and transports him to Douxie's apartment.Now Krel and Douxie have to figure out a way to bring Krel back home while Douxie struggles to make ends meet in New York.
Relationships: Archie & Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Nari, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Krel Tarron, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Nari
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	1. An unexpected destination

“It’s time Nari and I got a move on, before the order catches up.” Douxie stated as he pointed towards the airship behind him. 

“You’re leaving? Already?” Claire asked in a disappointing tone.

“Yeah. You just finished a whole speech about saving the world together.” Steve added. Obviously wanting his new wizard friend to stay. 

“Where are you going?” asked Jim, wanting to know what the wizard was planning.

“I promised Merlin I’d keep Nari safe. Which means taking her far away from here. But don’t worry, I’ll be seeing you champions of Arcadia soon enough.” And with that Hisirdoux started up the ship and hopped on. With a goodbye he set off towards the bright blue sky.

\---

It had been around an hour since they left Arcadia. The weather seemed to pose no threat to their voyage just yet. They were speeding through the summer sky, surrounded by clusters of cumulus clouds and the occasional flock of birds. Nari was busy looking down at the meadows and fields of fresh grass below them when Archie finally asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“I’m not sure if we’ve discussed this yet, but may I ask where are we going?”

Douxie looked down to properly face his shapeshifting friend. “Far away from here.” 

“Yes, that’s obvious but do you have a specific place in mind? We are going to have to settle down and find a place to rest eventually.” 

“I know, but we’ve only been flying for an hour. We’ll find a place to land when it gets dark.” 

\---

The bright and sunny day started to shift into the warm pink and orange hues of the sunset. They had been flying for around 5 hours non stop and the results had started to affect the master wizard and his feline companion. Feeling the change in their aura, Nari stops sightseeing and confronts Hisirdoux about it. 

“I can feel your auras starting to dwindle. Maybe we should rest for awhile.” Douxie was surprised by this but shakes it off. 

“I appreciate your concern Nari, but I don’t think that we’ve traveled far enough.” 

“Well I for one think we should rest. Piloting this ship for this long is going to drain your energy.” Added Archie before the wizard could say anything else.

Douxie was contemplating on whether or not he should continue the argument when he noticed something weird in the distance. When looking closer it seemed like a flock of large greyish winged creatures were circling a certain part of an upcoming forest. The ship flew closer to the forest to get a closer view when the creatures spotted them. The wizard immediately regretted his decision and started to turn the ship around but the creatures were already gaining up on them. 

“What are they?!” Douxie shouted as he was struggling to steer the ship away from the claws of the creatures. 

“I believe Jim mentioned they were called Stalklings! They are immune to sunlight!” Archie quickly replied as he transformed into his dragon form and started to fight back. 

“Nari get down!” Was all she heard before she almost had her antlers almost burned off by a fire spell that Douxie casted. Archie finally managed to injure one enough for Douxie to keep it steady with a magical chain and quickly used another spell to knock it down. They continued to struggle with the pack of Stalklings when the ship started to sink. Nari used her control over the trees nearby to create a shield against the Stalklings but they had already done a considerable amount of damage to their ship.

They descended at a much faster pace than before and the trees around them didn’t help with their landing. The ship landed with a loud crash and tipped over to its side. Douxie was laying on the dirt floor with a ringing sound in his ears. His head felt fuzzy but he managed to open his eyes. When he slowly sat up he immediately regretted it. His back hurt and he had bruises all over his body. There were a few minor cuts and scratches on his arms and the bottom part of his jeans were slightly torn. The wizard looked around frantically trying to find his companions when he noticed the state that the ship was in. He got up to his feet and stumbled towards the damaged aircraft. The ship had two large holes on its sides from the claws of the Stalklings and the brace for the green crystal was snapped in half. The left wing was bent and the right wing had the edges torn off. 

Right beside the wrecked ship was Archie and Nari. Archie had a few scratches on his wings and back but otherwise seemed perfectly unharmed. Nari was able to soften her landing by using the branches and its leaves to slow the fall. She was lying on a pile of leaves and had bruises on her arms and legs as well as some cuts on her sides. 

“Are you guys OK?” Hisirdoux asked in a slightly panicked voice, worried that their injuries were worse than they seemed. Archie opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. 

“I’m fine. It seems we’ve landed in a forest. Do you know where we are?” 

“I’m not sure,” Douxie took out his phone, which only suffered a few scratches, to check the map. 

“I don’t have reception here. Do you think you can fly up and see if there's a way out of here?” 

The wizard's familiar did as he was told and flew towards the sky. When he was above the trees he looked in all directions trying to find where the forest ended. He found the silhouette of a city West of where they were at. When he returned to the ship Nari was already awake. He informed Douxie of the city. 

“The city looks like it’s a walking distance from here. It might be best if we leave now.” The feline added.

“We have to fix the ship first. Or else how are we supposed to keep Nari safe?” 

“I believe it is best we stay here for now. You can still protect Nari. Plus, have you seen the poor state the ship is in? You can’t just fix it in a day.” Hisirdoux looked down at the ground and sighed in defeat. 

“Fine. But we will leave as soon as I fix it.” As the wizard said that he used his staff to put an invisibility spell on the ship and the wreckage around it. They searched around for any of their missing supplies and headed toward the signs of civilization. 

When they reached the edge of the forest they were finally able to see where exactly they landed. Out of the trio, the wizard was the only one freaking out about their environment. Just to make sure, Douxie took out his phone and turned on his GPS. 

“I can’t believe it! Out of all the places to crash land in, we just have to land in New York City?!” 

“I don’t understand why you sound so upset? I thought New York City was a very popular place.” Nari responded as she hid behind some nearby bushes. 

“That’s exactly why I’m upset. Popular means more people. More people means higher rent fees. I don’t even want to think about how many hours of sleep I’m going to have to sacrifice in order to live here for a few months.” Douxie mumbled to himself in exasperation. 

“Before we try to find where we’re going to stay the night, we should look for a disguise for Nari. We don’t want her looking suspicious, now do we?” Quipped Archie as he walked towards a nearby store, Douxie following right behind him.

Once Douxie came out of said store, he handed a large paper bag to Nari. Inside there was a beanie with two holes for her antlers, a long sleeve shirt, some jeans and a plain jacket. She quickly put them on and they made way towards the center of the city. Hisirdoux wasn’t sure where they would stay the night so he searched up cheap motels and apartments that weren’t in a horrible shape. Finally finding a motel they could stay at, they booked their room and Nari headed off to sleep. Before the wizard entered his room, he walked towards the front door and sealed it with 5 magical locks as a precaution for the Arcane order. 

“Do you think 5 locks is enough, Arch?” 

“I’d say it’s enough for now. Wouldn’t want you using up too much energy.” Archie replied as Nari was gently snoring on one of the two beds. 

“It looks like it’s time to go to bed. Goodnight Arch.” 

“Goodnight Douxie.”


	2. The addition of a new companion

It had been around 6 weeks and a half since the Arcane Order had attacked Arcadia and Douxie left with Archie and Nari. Things went back to normal, or as normal as they could get in Arcadia. Somehow the town managed to raise enough money to start rebuilding the school after a part of Camelot crushed it. Meanwhile, everyone was taking advantage of their early summer break. Or well, almost everyone. Once Zoe caught wind of what happened to Hex Tech she forced Toby, Steve and Krel to help fix the damage. Claire was about to be dragged in as well but she managed to escape by explaining that she was planning on taking Jim on a vacation with her. She wanted to help ease him back into the human lifestyle by relaxing on a beach and sightseeing the busy streets of Los Angeles. 

“Ugh!! I can’t believe I have to help move boxes around when I could be playing GoGo Sushi 3 with AARRGGHH!” Toby grumbled as he set down the 9th box that evening. 

“Yeah! I should be creep slaying right now! Why do we get stuck doing the boring work anyways?” Steve asked as he handed over a wrench to Krel who was working on fixing the air conditioner. It was taking him a bit longer since he was in his human form. 

“Maybe it’s because you don’t know how to work with machines?” Krel replied as he handed back the wrench and asked for a screwdriver. 

“I think I’d rather risk breaking my back carrying heavy boxes than frying my brain trying to fix a machine.” Toby checked his watch. “Well it’s time that I should head back. I have to help Nana with something,” Toby stated as he got ready to leave. 

“I’ve got to leave as well. Coach Lawrence wants to teach me how to fix my Vespa. Are you ok closing the shop yourself, Krel?” 

“Yeah, Steve. I'm almost done with the air conditioner so I’ll leave soon.” 

“Alright. See you tomorrow butt snack.” And with that Steve left the store and walked towards his house. 

Krel closed the shop and headed towards his house. He lived on the other side of town so he took his bike and went down the street. He took his time to admire the view of the bright yellow and orange hues of the afternoon and everyone going on with their lives. He found comfort in living an ordinary life, one without having to worry about the world ending, without having a bounty on his head, one without having to fear for the safety of his friends and family. He passed by Stuart’s shop to pick up some parts for his new invention. When he finally arrived home he went directly to his room and set down the spare parts he bought. 

After finding out that his wormhole was a success he wanted to modify it a bit. He was inspired by Claire’s portals and wanted to make his wormhole work in a similar way. He was able to make it more portable by making it have a compact design when not activated and then transforming into the size of an average Akiridion when turned on. The only thing that Krel was struggling with was figuring out how to make the wormhole happen without adding a specific destination. He wanted to make his invention take you anywhere you want to go on Earth without needing the coordinates or some sort of beacon there. The idea was for the wormhole to take you to a place you remember or anywhere at random. That way if danger were to strike again, they could all safely escape far away. 

He was planning on asking Claire if she could assist him with his project but he didn’t want to bother her when she was planning on going on a vacation.  _ This is ok. I can make this work by myself. I am the genius of House Tarron, after all. How hard can it be?  _ Apparently it was hard enough to make Krel think that maybe he should have asked Claire for some advice. He texted her but she had already left with Jim so she hadn’t read it and he wasn’t sure who else he could ask. Toby knew more about trolls than he did but Toby didn’t know a lot about technology so he wouldn’t be that helpful. Steve could serve as moral support but he wouldn’t be able to help him either. Eli was still in Akiridion V with Aja and he wasn’t sure if Eli completely understands their technology. His transduction had worn off and he thought he could work on the wormhole better in his normal form but that didn’t get him too far on his progress. Four hands could only do so much if they don’t know what to do. 

There was a gentle knock on the door as Lucy walked into Krel’s room with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. 

“I know you’re working hard but you should rest for a bit. Maybe eat something to take your mind off of things?” Lucy offered as she placed the plate on his desk. 

“Thank you Lucy.” He replied as he started to eat the food. He started to feel fatigue consume him as he finished his meal but he persisted and continued to work on his invention. After a couple more failed test runs he’s finally able to make the wormhole stay open when he throws a tennis ball through it. 

“Aha!! It worked!” Krel shouted in triumph as he threw his 4 arms up in the air. “Ok, now all I’m going to need is to test it with a living being. Luug isn’t here but maybe I can ask Toby if he knows someone who could be my test subject.”

As he was about to call Toby, the wormhole started to destabilize. It began to grow larger and shift into different shapes. Krel didn’t notice this until he felt a force pull him closer to the wormhole. He immediately held onto his bookshelf and anything stable that he could get his hands on. The wormhole got larger and many of the smaller objects in his room got sucked in like his serrator and his notes. The gravitational pull of the wormhole got stronger and not even his 4 arms were enough to keep him in place. The more he lost his grip the more his panic grew. He didn’t know where the wormhole led to and he didn’t want to find out. The force was too much and with a loud yelp, Krel was sucked into the portal and the last thing he saw as he entered the black hole was his room growing smaller.

\---

These past weeks had put a lot of mental and physical strain on Douxie. He had to work 3 part time jobs to make ends meet and he had to make sure that he had enough energy to maintain the magical locks that protected their apartment from the Arcane Order. He was planning on applying for a full time job but he wasn’t sure if he would have the time to work longer hours. The rundown apartment that he managed to obtain was small and a bit cramped, but it had enough windows for the sunlight to shine and with a bit of customization it looked quite nice. Other than the expensive rent, life in New York was pleasant. They hadn’t seen any signs that the Arcane Order was in the city so they took this time to relax. 

As Hisirdoux resealed the final lock on the door, Archie woke up from his afternoon nap and got up from the couch. The master wizard set his bag down on the floor next to a drawer and made his way towards the small kitchen. On his way he noticed Nari was out on the balcony admiring the sunset and talking with the few plants that they were able to buy. When he entered the kitchen he groaned at how empty it was. He opened the fridge and took out an apple and a cup of strawberry yogurt. Even though he had enough money to grab something cheap that could pass for a meal, he was exhausted from his job. Just moving around the apartment was making him drowsier. Noticing this, Archie hops up on the kitchen table and sits next to Douxie.

“Are you ok? You’ve been coming home later than usual and the bags under your eyes are getting worse. Not to mention you haven’t had a decent meal in weeks.”

“Yeah I’m fine Arch. I’m just busy with work. I have the weekend off and I have an interview for a full time job at the local record store tomorrow so I’ll eat better after that. I also want to go back to the forest to check on the ship.” Douxie reassured him as he threw away the empty cup.

“You should eat healthier as well.” Stated Nari as she closed the balcony door behind her. She had just finished watering some of the plants since she was putting away the watering can. 

“I’ll try but I won’t make any promises. Organic food isn’t always cheap, you know?”

Douxie was about to tell Nari about his plan to go to the forest when he heard a weird rumbling noise in the middle of the room. He glanced at Archie and it seemed he wasn’t the only one who heard it. Douxie summoned his staff, Archie transformed into his dragon form, and Nari hid behind the couch but she summoned some of her magic just in case. They kept their guards up and were looking around the room, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. As the sound got louder they turned their heads towards the ceiling and they witnessed a black hole start to form.

As Hisirdoux prepared a spell, two objects fell out of the hole. Upon further inspection the wizard finds out that the objects appear to be a mug and something that looks like a blue protractor. Before they could get close enough to pick up the items, they heard a loud yelp come from the hole and then in an instant something large crashed onto the floor. 

“Ughhhhh. Oh kleb. Where am I?” 

It took him a moment to snap out of his daze. When he finally took in his surroundings, Krel found himself in the middle of an apartment with a cat- like dragon, an ancient sorceress and a master wizard aiming their weapons at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was able to fix the layout! Also Krel finally shows up so the main story is going to start. I think I'll most likely update this fic every Saturday but I might be busy so it's not guaranteed.


	3. Settling in

“Krel?!” Douxie exclaimed as he set his staff down and approached the Akiridion, “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Arcadia?” 

Krel was still taking in his surroundings as the wizard was questioning him. His whole body ached from the fall and he was still wondering where exactly the wormhole had taken him. He could tell he was in a small apartment and the scenery outside of the windows showed that they were in the middle of a city. But which city were they in? How far away was Arcadia Oaks and how would he get back home? As the questions started to flood his mind Krel quickly asked, “Wait, where am I?” He was eagerly awaiting Douxie’s response as the guitarist quickly realized that Krel was as clueless as he was.

“We’re in my apartment in New York. What was that black hole that you came out of?” 

_ New York. New York?! Why am I all the way across the country?!  _ Krel tried to calm down as he briefly regained his composure and responded.

“I was working on modifying my wormhole when it started to malfunction and all I remember after that is being sucking into it.” 

Krel tried to remember what being in the wormhole was like or any other information that could serve as a better explanation. Seeing his frustration, Douxie extended his hand.

“Hey, don’t worry about it ok? I can tell you don’t know why you’re here either. Let’s try to get you settled down first.” 

The Akiridion took the wizard's hand as he was helped up to his feet. Looking back he realized that he made quite a mess in their living room and he immediately felt guilty. He also noticed that a few of his things were scattered across the floor. Reaching down he picked up his notes and his serrator. He was glad that he could at least disguise and defend himself so he wouldn’t become more of a burden. He set his belongings aside on the kitchen table as he helped pick up the mess that he had made. When they finished cleaning up, Krel noticed that the ancient sorceress was still hiding behind the couch. She eyed him with curiosity and caution. He supposed that years of being in hiding would cause you to be weary of those who you barely know.

“I understand that you didn’t mean to get teleported here but if I must ask, why were you experimenting with a portal?” Archie asked as Krel stood awkwardly in the corner of the room. 

“It’s called a wormhole,” the extraterrestrial corrected, “And if I’m being honest, I don’t have an exact reason why. I had been successful in creating one back when we needed support from Akiridion V and were looking for a way back home. I thought that maybe I could make it more portable and limit its capability of possible coordinates.” Seeing that Douxie and Nari had confused expressions Krel clarified, “Basically, I wanted to make a wormhole that can take you anywhere on Earth instead of anywhere in the universe.” 

“That’s smart! That way we can escape in an instant without having to rely on shadow magic.” Krel beamed inside at Douxie’s compliment. “Speaking of shadow magic, did Claire help you with the wormhole? I’m sure you’d want to study her portals.” 

“I was planning to but she didn’t respond to my texts. She mentioned that she was going on a vacation with Jim since they finally have a break from all the troll hunting.”

“So that also rules out the possibility of asking her to take you back home. Not that I don’t like your company and all but I’m assuming that you’d like to go back home eventually.” Hisirdoux quickly added. He didn’t want to seem rude by implying that he wanted to send Krel back as soon as possible.

“No, it’s ok. I was going to have to figure out a way to go back anyways so now is better than ever.” Krel had been too busy explaining how he got into the predicament that he found himself in that he forgot about him returning home. “If we can't ask Claire for help, can’t we just use your ship to fly me back?”

“I’d love to but you see…” 

“The ship is damaged due to an attack from Stalklings so we can’t use it at the moment.” Archie finishes for him.

“We left the ship where we landed and hid it since it was too damaged for me to shrink it into a bottle.” Douxie added.

“If your ship is damaged I would gladly fix it. I’m sure once I find the right parts and tools I can make it fly again.” Krel responded with enthusiasm. Even though he was just working on his project a few minutes ago he wanted to tinker with technology again. Just thinking about fixing a magical flying ship was making him energetic.

“I appreciate the thought, but you don’t have to. You just arrived here by accident and I don’t want to make you go through all that trouble.” Douxie sheepishly replied as he moved his gaze downwards. He hated that he kind of shot down Krel’s offer, which he should really take since he surely doesn’t have the resources and time to fix it himself. But he didn’t want Krel to worry about fixing the ship as well. 

“It really isn’t a problem. You know I like to fix and build machines. Plus, once it’s finished I can finally have a way to get back home.” 

“Ok fine. But I’m not sure if I have the resources needed to fix the ship. If you want I can go to the store and get what you need tomorrow?”

“Sure, though I’m going to need to look at the ship first to determine what I’ll need.”

“Alright. I can take you with us to the forest tomorrow to check up on the ship.” 

Douxie checked his phone and the time read 8:47. His morning shift was going to start sooner tomorrow since he offered to help open up the coffee shop. He decided that it might be better to call in early so that he won’t be sleep deprived the next day. He walked over to the spare room down the hall. Opening the creaky door, the wizard found the majority of his belongings, one of them being a spare acoustic guitar that he found at a garage sale. They used this room as more of a storage room than anything else since Archie slept next to Douxie and Nari really like the comfort and size of the pullout couch. The guitarist went to the closet and pulled out a spare mattress that they found in the apartment. As he was preparing the bed, Krel peeked his head in to see what was happening.

“I’m sorry that we don’t have anything better right now. This mattress isn’t the best but it’s pretty comfortable and it’s clean. I’ll make sure to organize this room later.” Douxie stated as he got up from the floor and brushed the dust off of his jeans.

“It’s fine. The room looks surprisingly … cozy?” Krel responded as he struggled to find the right word to describe the vibe that the room gave. Sure, it was cluttered with random boxes containing books and some furniture but everything was set off to the side, preventing it from getting in the way. Even with all the items, the room didn’t make the Akiridion feel claustrophobic. 

“Feel free to get anything from the fridge or ask me anything. I’m heading off to bed, Goodnight.” The wizard said as he started to leave the room.

“I will, Goodnight.” Krel waved back.

As soon as Hisirdoux was gone, Krel set his hand down. He didn’t feel tired enough yet so he looked around the room. There were two medium sized boxes that were open. One of them had old looking books with ancient runes and symbols on them. The other contained a plethora of slim binders and many sheets of paper. Upon further inspection, Krel noticed that there were music notes on said papers. Krel had always wanted to learn how to read sheet music. The way that certain symbols on parchment could easily translate to sound when someone understands them greatly intrigued the extraterrestrial. There were some notes that seemed like they were messily written and constantly erased, leaving dents on the paper. There were also many that weren’t finished or had no title. Out of the corner of his eye, Krel noticed the guitar at the edge of the room. He walked towards it and picked it up with care. He studied how the instrument felt and looked as he turned it around. There were small scratches on the back and sides but otherwise it was in mint condition. The urge of strumming the strings was strong but he had to stop himself as he remembered that Douxie was most likely sleeping by now.

He hesitated in setting the guitar back down, still wanting to hold it longer, but he convinced himself that it was time to call it a day. As he turns off the lights and sits down on the mattress, the feeling of dread started to sink in. All that talking distracted him from reality. Krel immediately regretted turning off the lights. The tranquility of the apartment and the faint sounds of the city outside weren’t helping him calm down. He began to take quicker breaths and curl in on himself. The thoughts of him being alone in an entirely different place was nerve wracking. He shook his head.  _ Come on Krel! Keep it together! You know you're not alone. You have Douxie, Archie and Nari. Plus I can fix their ship so I go back home. _

**_But what if they weren’t there? What if you were transported to the end of the world, a secluded island or somewhere with no one that you know?_ **

He gasped at the sudden thought. He wanted to go back to the living room and hang around Archie and Nari or Douxie or anyone. He never really liked being alone ever since Aja left. When he was stuck in Arcadia he at least had Aja, Luug and Varvatos Vex to keep him company as well as the blanks and Mother. He had people he could talk about his negative feelings with. Aja was always there to comfort him as he was there to comfort her. Just remembering Aja made Krel’s panic worsen. He missed Aja, he missed Luug,he missed Varvatos, he missed Akiridion V and he definitely missed Arcadia. He finally managed to lay down on the mattress as he felt warm tears begin to form in the corners of his eyes. 

As he turned to his side and forcefully shut his eyes, Krel whispered, “When am I going to get back home?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is where that slight angst tag comes in. There will be more angst in later chapters but I don't want to go overload.


	4. The forest

It was 6:15 am when Nari was awoken by loud sounds coming from the kitchen. As she rolled over and sat up on the pullout couch, the sorceress caught a whiff of familiar smells. The aroma of freshly made eggs and crispy bacon helped fully wake up Nari as she rubbed her eyes. When she opened her eyes she noticed that the others were awake as well. Douxie was busy making breakfast in their compact kitchen, Archie was helping organize some scattered newspapers and Krel was sitting at the kitchen table with a groggily expression on his face. The Akiridion had transformed into his human disguise and was struggling to not fall asleep when Nari sat next to him.

He seemed a little startled at first at her sudden proximity but quickly calmed down as he realized it was just her. Nari took this opportunity to observe him. Merlin would tell her multiple times that staring was something that was deemed as rude by the majority of humankind but she just couldn’t help it. It was her nature to be curious about everything and this new companion was no exception. She noticed how even though he looked like a human now, the shape of his face was still similar to how he really looks. He had some simple clothes on and she wondered if they were part of the unique way that he disguises himself or if he actually bought the clothes. Nari also noticed that Krel looked tired and had something under his eyes that greatly resembled eye bags. 

Before she can ask if he slept well, Douxie set two plates of breakfast in front of them. The guitarist also set a small plate of roasted salmon on the floor for Archie. Her hunger started to get the better of the sorceress as she quickly eats her eggs. She was almost finished with her meal when she noticed that the Akiridion had barely eaten anything. She figured that Krel was just not hungry but his eyes were telling another story. They seemed blank and very tired, like he wasn't completely awake. Apparently Hisirdoux had also perceived this as he was analyzing the brunette. Said wizard checked his watch before leaving the dining table and cleaning his plate. He made his way to the apartment’s door as he grabbed his bag, baseball hat and a small lunch.

“I’m heading off to work. Call me if you need anything.”

“Will do.” Archie responded as he was still reading a newspaper.

And with that, Nari was left alone with a bored shapeshifting dragon and a very peculiar extraterrestrial.

\---

It had been a couple of hours since Douxie had left and Nari had quickly grown restless as the minutes kept going by. She had done everything that provided some sort of entertainment up until now. She had talked to the plants, cleaned the kitchen twice and watched some cartoons on the T.V. She didn’t really talk with Archie since they didn’t have too much in common. Sure, both are centuries old magical beings who like nature but other than that, she didn’t know what the dragon’s interests were. Only one idea had popped up in Nari’s mind and she could already tell it was going to most likely be an awkward experience. 

The greenette left the living room and slowly made her way towards the end of the corridor. She pressed her ear against the closed door and listened to the sounds of metal clinking together and the rustling of paper. Nari gently knocked on the door and waited for a response. The clinking stopped and she heard a muffled “come in”. As she opened the door she found Krel lying on the mattress with some small metal tools, gears and screws spread around him. The Akiridion slowly sits up as he directs his full attention towards the forest child. Nari starts to think that this may not have been the best decision as she was frozen in place. She wasn’t even sure what she was doing here in the first place. All the sorceress thought was that she was bored and that she might be able to get to know her new companion more. She remembers that she hasn’t said anything yet when she clears her throat. 

“Ummm, what are you doing? I noticed that you haven’t left your room since this morning and I was wondering if something was wrong.” Nari stated in a slightly nervous tone. She did not realize how hard communicating could be.

Looking at the small greenette quizzically, Krel replies as he grabs a nearby gear, “I was kind of bored so I just started to build something with whatever spare parts I could find.”

Hearing the word build peaked the ancient sorceress's interest as she asked enthusiastically, “Oh! What are you building?”

Nari remembered that Krel was a very skilled inventor that even helped Douxie build the time loop contraption that held the Arcane Order while they went to rescue her. She was genuinely curious about what the extraterrestrial was up to so she made her way towards the mattress and sat down on the corner. Being surprised by the sudden intrusion into his space caused Krel to scoot backwards a bit. 

“I’m not sure, I just wanted to see if I got some inspiration for future inventions or something. If I’m being honest, I think I was just messing with these parts because I had nothing better to do.” The brunette nervously replied as he stared at the objects lying on his bed. 

“Oh. Did you get any ideas?”

“I don’t think so. I might be able to use them to fix your ship though. Speaking of the ship, when is Douxie coming back?”

“I’m not sure. He usually comes back around 6 but I think he mentioned that he might come home late.” 

Nari’s mood dimmed a bit as she remembered the wizard. She never liked how he worked himself to the bone everyday and how he put the needs and happiness of others before his. Not wanting her sudden mood shift to go noticed by her companion, she gets up from the mattress and extends a hand.

“Why don’t we watch something on the T.V to get you motivated? Who knows, you might get some new ideas.”

“Ok, sure.”

Taking the forest child’s small hand, Krel is led towards the living room and sits down on the left side of the couch. The sudden shift of the pressure on the couch woke up Archie from his afternoon nap. The shapeshifting dragon slowly stretched his back as he jumped off the couch and walked towards the kitchen. As he starts to eat the leftovers of his roasted salmon, Archie hears Nari ask him a question.

“Can you recommend some movies, Archie?”

Looking up from his meal, the feline found Nari’s eyes peeking behind the couch, staring at him with an eager expression. He quickly eats the rest of his meal and moves towards the T.V. He starts to scan over the several DvDs and Blue Ray disks that Douxie managed to buy.

“Do you have a specific genre in mind?” Archie asks as he continues to look through the collection of movies.

“What do you want to watch, Krel?” Nari quickly asked as to not let the Akiridion ask her instead.

“I don’t know. I’m fine with anything,” Krel notices that Nari is looking at him with a look that screamed ‘You better pick something’ so he adds, “Maybe we can watch a fantasy movie?” 

“Fantasy movie it is.”

And with that Archie put a disk into the DvD player and handed the controller to Nari. When the movie got to the play screen, Krel read the title and got excited. He had always wanted to watch ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ but he was too busy with his inventions or school. Even though humans weren’t as smart and advanced as Akiridions, their stories have always been interesting and fascinating. And the fact that many of the fantasy creatures that these movies have are actually real makes his infatuation with them even stronger. They were 30 minutes into the movie when Krel mustered up enough courage to ask Archie a question.

“By the way, are dragons like the ones in the movie?” 

He knew that the question wasn’t offensive since he was only seeking clarification but his social anxiety was not having any mercy on him today. He didn’t dare look at the shapeshifter sitting next to him as he waited for an answer. 

“Not necessarily. Dragons have a wide variety of appearances so some of us look similar to the dragons in the movie. But unlike the ones in the movie, we can actually talk in multiple languages, draconic and english being two of them. Some dragons, just as myself, can also shape shift but that usually means that we are familiars. Other than that, dragons are similar to the ones we are seeing right now.”

Krel finally turned to face Archie and saw that he was calm and paying most of his attention towards the T.V. The brunette was glad that Archie wasn’t annoyed by the question and turned back towards the television. He was expecting the dragon to be displeased by the question and to tell him that dragons are actually completely different to those in the movie. If the movie got a good chunk of its information correct on dragons, Krel wondered what other forms of media had similar depictions to dragons. Just thinking about the endless information about dragons was making the extraterrestrial excited. 

\---

They had almost finished the entire trilogy of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ when they heard the sound of the doorknob being opened and the jangling of keys. As the guitarist opened the door and peeked inside, he was greeted by the sight of his roommates sitting on the couch with an empty bowl of popcorn and pleased looks on their faces. Nari was the first to get up and she hugged Douxie as he closed the door behind him. Archie also left the couch and moved towards the wizard to greet him as well. Krel, not being too familiar with him, paused the movie as he waved. Hisirdoux waved back as he moved towards the kitchen to set a bag of groceries on the table. 

“I brought some food so that we can eat before we head out!” Douxie announced as he prepared their dinner. 

“You sound awfully chipper today, Douxie. Has anything pleasant happened?” Archie asked as he followed the master wizard to the kitchen. 

“You betcha. Guess who just got the job at the record store 5 blocks away from here?” Douxie replied in an eager and enthusiastic tone as he started to make dinner.

“Congratulations!” Nari stated. She was glad that Douxie was going to work at the records store since she knows how much that place puts him at ease.

“That’s not the only good news. After we eat we’re going to go to the forest to check up on the ship.” 

With that Nari was thrilled. She missed nature already and she couldn’t wait to feel the aura of the world. She also enjoyed listening to the birds and animals that lived in the forest. Even though the city was highly populated, there were still some animals that were used to the presence of humans like squirrels and pigeons who Nari enjoyed talking to since they always had the funniest stories.

Dinner was served and everyone sat down to eat. Hisirdoux had made tilapia and Archie was more than pleased with this. Nari didn’t like eating meat so she was eating her cooked vegetables happily when she noticed that Krel was eating more than in the morning. The greenette was glad that he seemed to be feeling better than before. 

As soon as everyone was finished with their meal, they started to get ready to leave the apartment. Archie was helping Douxie gather some flashlights and a list of what repairs needed to be made while Krel was washing the dishes. Nari was getting dressed as she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching her room. There was a knock and Nari opened the door to find Hisirdoux standing in front of her room.

“You ready?”

“Yes! I can’t wait to see the animals again.” Nari added as they made their way down the corridor and into the living room. 

Nari was about to join Archie and Krel at the front door when Douxie stopped her and pulled her aside into the kitchen. Looking up in confusion, the demigod noticed that he had a worried look on his face. 

“Hey Nari? Is Krel ok? I noticed that he didn’t eat too much during breakfast and he’s been kind of distant today.” 

Nari was partially surprised by this. She wasn’t expecting that the thing that Douxie was so worried about would be the wellbeing of the Akiridion. But after thinking about it, the ancient sorceress realized that this was nothing out of the ordinary since he did care about every life he came across.

“Well now that you mention it, I have noticed that Krel has been kind of off today. He didn’t talk too much and stayed the majority of the time in his room. I also noticed that he seems tired and has eyebags.” Nari replied.

“Did you forget something?” Archie asked as Douxie and Nari joined them at the door.

“I was just checking if I left something behind. Are we ready to go?” the master wizard asked as he turned the doorknob. Everyone agreed in unison and they stepped outside the apartment.

\---

The city was as busy as ever. Since Douxie didn’t have enough money to afford a car, they were walking down the sidewalk towards the forest. The streets were crowded with locals and tourists. Many were too busy to pay attention to their surroundings, lost in their thoughts while others were taking pictures or trying to arrive at their destination on time. At one point in time, Douxie would have wondered why people didn’t take time to appreciate their surroundings but if he learned one thing in the 9 centuries that he was stuck in Arcadia, it was that life brought with it responsibility and stress. Just making enough to live in an apartment was incredibly difficult for some.

Hisirdoux was grateful that he wasn’t alone. Archie had given countless advice on how to survive by himself and now he had Nari to protect and she lends a helping hand whenever possible. The one who he is worried about being alone is Krel. He knew that he was a good kid and he was incredibly talented. Douxie had briefly heard of many of the accomplishments that Krel and his sister Aja had done while they were on Earth and he knew that the extraterrestrial could fend for himself. He knew that Krel is probably feeling lonely and finding it hard to adapt but the wizard doesn’t know how to approach him about it. 

Hisirdoux quickly snapped out of his thoughts when they almost arrived at the ship. He didn’t realize how dark it was and turned on his flashlight. Nari was basking in the presence of the nature around her and she seemed more alive. Douxie felt a bit guilty since he wasn’t able to take her here or to a park enough. Feeling the need to talk he asked Krel,

“Got any guesses on how bad the ship is?”

“Does that mean it’s basically destroyed?” The Akiridion replied with a small smile. 

“Not really, I think it’s still salvageable. Might take awhile to get it back up and running though.”

A few minutes later Archie, who was at the front of the group, stopped and the rest followed. Krel was a bit surprised at the state of the ship. He had expected it to have enough damage to leave it immobile, like a huge hole at the side or just missing a component like the engine but this was bad. The wings were all messed up, one was almost torn in half. There were a couple of large openings in the shape of claw marks on the sides. Just peering inside them, Krel could tell that multiple internal parts were missing. Moving on, he saw that the green gem that seemed to power the ship had fallen out of place and the circular braces that used to hold it were snapped. It was too dark, even with the flashlights, to properly see inside of the ship so Krel settled on finding materials to fix the exterior first.

Krel took out a notepad that Archie had given him and started taking down notes. Douxie peered at what he was writing and saw that the brunette was not only writing down what he might need, but he was also sketching some of the damage that the ship had suffered. He had filled out around 3 pages of notes before he stood up and walked over to Douxie.

“Ok I think I’ve written down everything I need so far. It was too dark to properly see inside but I know what materials I need to fix the exterior of the ship.”

“We can get what you need tomorrow afternoon. It’s pretty dark so we should go back.” Douxie stated as he started moving back to a nearby hiking trail. 

Nari was happily admiring the trees and plants around her while Krel was getting constantly smacked by low tree branches. 

“Kleb! No offense but I’m not a big fan of nature,” he grumbled as he moved the branches to the side.

“Non taken,” replied Nari who was too busy looking at the night sky.

“Are you not used to nature, Krel?” Archie asked.

“On Akiridion V, there are no trees or grass because our bodies are made out of energy so when we landed here, I wasn’t used to forests and I guess I’m still not.”

“That’s understandable. Adapting to a new environment is never too pleasant.” 

They continued to walk and soon left the forest. Douxie was starting to feel exhausted as he began to drag his feet across the sidewalk. Luckily the way back didn’t take too long and he quickly entered the apartment and started to get ready for bed. Nari was almost finished placing her blankets on the pullout couch as Douxie stepped out of the bathroom. He was about to enter his bedroom when he saw that Krel was entering his. The guitarist walks over to the doorframe and calls over to the Akiridion.

“Hey. Can I come in?”

“Sure. Do you need something?” Krel replied as he moved his materials off of the mattress. His transduction had already worn off so he set aside his serrator.

“I just wanted to see what things I should look out for when I go to the store tomorrow.”

“If you’re able to, could you get some resin? Preferably polyester but epoxy will work as well. I’m also going to need magic sculpt and fiberglass cloth. I need a sander as well but those can be pricey so if you can’t get one I can build one. I have the materials written down on this list if you need it.” He stated as he handed a piece of lined paper to Douxie.

The wizard took the list and scanned it over. It wasn’t as extensive as he thought it would be which made him somewhat glad. He recognized some of the items and knew that he would need to visit The Home Depot and Lowe's soon. 

“I’ll try to buy the majority of these tomorrow.” He was about to say goodbye and leave when he remembered he had another question. 

“By the way, I was wondering how you’re holding up so far? I know adapting to a new environment is hard so it’s ok if you feel stressed or lonely. We could always go somewhere familiar or go sightseeing to help take your mind off of things. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it but I just want you to know that you can always talk to me.”

“I greatly appreciate it. I’m fine right now but I’ll keep it in mind.” Krel replies with a small smile.

“Great! See you tomorrow. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do a Nari POV in the beginning and it was surprisingly fun to write. I tried to add some more Archie content but since we don't know too much about him it's a little tricky but there will be more moments with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfic that I am publishing on here so I'm sorry if the layout isn't the best. Anyways, I'll try to upload once a week but don't expect it to be consistent since I still have school and it takes me awhile to write chapters.


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